Number 73
Volume VIII
Washington, D.C.

IMMIGRANT NUMBERS FOR SEPTEMBER 2004

A. STATUTORY NUMBERS

1. This bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during September. Consular officers are required to report to the Department of State documentarily qualified applicants for numerically limited visas; the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security reports applicants for adjustment of status. Allocations were made, to the extent possible under the numerical limitations, for the demand received by August 11th in the chronological order of the reported priority dates. If the demand could not be satisfied within the statutory or regulatory limits, the category or foreign state in which demand was excessive was deemed oversubscribed. The cut-off date for an oversubscribed category is the priority date of the first applicant who could not be reached within the numerical limits. Only applicants who have a priority date earlier than the cut-off date may be allotted a number. Immediately that it becomes necessary during the monthly allocation process to retrogress a cut-off date, supplemental requests for numbers will be honored only if the priority date falls within the new cut-off date.

2. The fiscal year 2004 limit for family-sponsored preference immigrants determined in accordance with Section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) is 226,000. The fiscal year 2004 limit for employment-based preference immigrants calculated under INA 201 is 192,074. Section 202 prescribes that the per-country limit for preference immigrants is set at 7% of the total annual family-sponsored and employment-based preference limits, i.e., 30,130 for FY-2004. The dependent area limit is set at 2%, or 8,608.

3. Section 203 of the INA prescribes preference classes for allotment of immigrant visas as follows:

FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCES

First:  Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Citizens:  23,400 plus any numbers not required for fourth preference.

Second:  Spouses and Children, and Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Permanent Residents:  114,200, plus the number (if any) by which the worldwide family preference level exceeds 226,000, and any unused first preference numbers:

A. Spouses and Children:  77% of the overall second preference limitation, of which 75% are exempt from the per-country limit;

B. Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older):  23% of the overall second preference limitation.

Third:  Married Sons and Daughters of Citizens:  23,400, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences.

Fourth:  Brothers and Sisters of Adult Citizens:  65,000, plus any numbers not required by first three preferences.

EMPLOYMENT-BASED PREFERENCES

First:  Priority Workers: 28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level, plus any numbers not required for fourth and fifth preferences.

Second:  Members of the Professions Holding Advanced Degrees or Persons of Exceptional Ability:  28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level, plus any numbers not required by first preference.

Third: Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Other Workers:  28.6% of the worldwide level, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences, not more than 10,000 of which to "Other Workers".

Fourth:  Certain Special Immigrants: 7.1% of the worldwide level.

Fifth:  Employment Creation:  7.1% of the worldwide level, not less than 3,000 of which reserved for investors in a targeted rural or high-unemployment area, and 3,000 set aside for investors in regional centers by Sec. 610 of P.L. 102-395.

4. INA Section 203(e) provides that family-sponsored and employment-based preference visas be issued to eligible immigrants in the order in which a petition in behalf of each has been filed. Section 203(d) provides that spouses and children of preference immigrants are entitled to the same status, and the same order of consideration, if accompanying or following to join the principal. The visa prorating provisions of Section 202(e) apply to allocations for a foreign state or dependent area when visa demand exceeds the per-country limit. These provisions apply at present to the following oversubscribed chargeability areas: INDIA, MEXICO, and PHILIPPINES.

5. On the chart below, the listing of a date for any class indicates that the class is oversubscribed (see paragraph 1); "C" means current, i.e., numbers are available for all qualified applicants; and "U" means unavailable, i.e., no numbers are available. (NOTE: Numbers are available only for applicants whose priority date is earlier than the cut-off date listed below.)

*NOTE:  For September, 2A numbers EXEMPT from per-country limit are available to applicants from all countries with priority dates earlier than 15SEP97. 2A numbers SUBJECT to per-country limit are available to applicants chargeable to all countries EXCEPT MEXICO with priority dates beginning 15SEP97 and earlier than 15APR00. (All 2A numbers provided for MEXICO are exempt from the per-country limit; there are no 2A numbers for MEXICO subject to per-country limit.)

The Department of State has available a recorded message with visa availability information which can be heard at: (area code 202) 663-1541. This recording will be updated in the middle of each month with information on cut-off dates for the following month.

B. DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT (DV) CATEGORY

Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act provides a maximum of up to 55,000 immigrant visas each fiscal year to permit immigration opportunities for persons from countries other than the principal sources of current immigration to the United States. The Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) passed by Congress in November 1997 stipulates that beginning with DV-99, and for as long as necessary, up to 5,000 of the 55,000 annually-allocated diversity visas will be made available for use under the NACARA program. This reduction has resulted in the DV-2004 annual limit being reduced to 50,000. DV visas are divided among six geographic regions. No one country can receive more than seven percent of the available diversity visas in any one year.

For September, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified DV-2004 applicants chargeable to all regions/eligible countries as follows. When an allocation cut-off number is shown, visas are available only for applicants with DV regional lottery rank numbers BELOW the specified allocation cut-off number:

Entitlement to immigrant status in the DV category lasts only through the end of the fiscal (visa) year for which the applicant is selected in the lottery. The year of entitlement for all applicants registered for the DV-2004 program ends as of September 30, 2004. DV visas may not be issued to DV-2004 applicants after that date. Similarly, spouses and children accompanying or following to join DV-2004 principals are only entitled to derivative DV status until September 30, 2004. DV visa availability through the very end of FY-2004 cannot be taken for granted. Numbers could be exhausted prior to September 30. Once all numbers provided by law for the DV-2004 program have been used, no further issuances will be possible.

C. ADVANCE NOTIFICATION OF THE DIVERSITY (DV) IMMIGRANT CATEGORY RANK CUT-OFFS WHICH WILL APPLY IN OCTOBER

For October , immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified DV-2005 applicants chargeable to all regions/eligible countries as follows. When an allocation cut-off number is shown, visas are available only for applicants with DV regional lottery rank numbers BELOW the specified allocation cut-off number:

D. RETROGRESSION OF CUT-OFF DATES FOR SEPTEMBER

Visa Bulletin number 72, advised readers that continued heavy applicant demand for numbers could require additional retrogressions during September. It has been necessary to retrogress the Mexico F2B and Philippines F3 cut-off dates for September to keep issuances within the annual numerical limits.

With the start of the new fiscal year in October, an attempt will be made to return the cut-off dates to the latest dates established during FY-2004.

E. FY-2003 DIVERSITY VISA STATISTICAL AND TREND ANALYSIS

In fiscal year 2003, Department of State embassies and consulates issued 48,115 diversity visas to persons from 158 countries/geographic entities.

The “typical” principal applicant issued a diversity visa was a male professional, aged 26-30, holding a university degree. 22,323 visas were issued to persons from Europe, followed by 19,227 for Africa, 6,557 for Asia, 2,024 for South America, 675 for OC, and 6 for North America.

For FY-2003, the top ten countries for DV allocations, including visas issued by Department of State overseas posts and adjustments of status by CIS, were: Ethiopia (3,784), Nigeria (3,386), Ukraine (2,935), Poland (2,899), Bulgaria (2,796), Kenya (2,272), Morocco (2,045), Lithuania (2,039), Albania (2,035), and Nepal (1,754). These ten countries accounted for 51% of all approved visas/adjustments. Nepal showed the sharpest increase in the number of visa recipients, increasing from 521 in FY-2002 to 1,754 in FY-2003. Other countries with significant increases included Bulgaria (1,925 to 2,796), Lithuania (1,139 to 2,039), Togo (564 to 1,434), Kenya (1,487 to 2,272), Morocco (1,205 to 2,045), and Romania (953 to 1,425). The largest decreases were for Sierra Leone (810 to 146), Ukraine (3,395 to 2,935), Iran (785 to 365), and Bangladesh (1,101 to 755). Peru and Cuba continued to be the top two South American countries, with 810 and 314 allocations respectively and Fiji maintained the top position in OC with 317. As in previous years, all North American allocations went to the Bahamas (6).

The statistics cited below are drawn from the 48,115 visas issued by the Department of State (24,278 principal applicants, plus 23,837 derivative family members). They do not reflect CIS-processed cases.

Gender

60% of the DV-2003 principal applicants who received visas were male. Males were in the majority for all geographic regions, with Africa having the highest percentage of male to female visa recipients, 68% to 32%. When derivative applicants were included, males comprised 54.5% of visa recipients, with Africa again having the greatest percentage of males (59%). Visa recipients from Europe, South America, OC, and North America were almost evenly divided between male and female, while males represented 54.7% of Asian visa recipients.

Marital Status

The marital status of DV recipients varied significantly from region to region. In Africa, only 42% of issued principal applicants were married, while 64% of Europeans reported their status as married. Overall, 52.2% of principal applicants were married, 44.4% single, 2.4% divorced, 0.7% widowed, and 0.3% separated.

Age

Principal applicants were predominantly young adults between the ages of 21 and 35. 26-30 year old applicants represented the largest group, 26% of the total, with those aged 21-25 years comprised 21.5% and aged 31-35 accounted for 18.6% of the total. Only 5% of principal applicants were over 50 years old.

When derivative beneficiaries are added, persons 20 years old and younger account for 28% of all DV recipients.

Employment

The three most common occupational categories listed for principal applicants accounted for 45.6% of those reporting an occupation: 4,407 persons (18.2%%) reported Executive/Administrative/Managerial occupations, 3,529 (14.5%) reported Service occupations, and 3,140 (12.9%) reported they were students. Other significant occupational categories were Teachers, except Postsecondary (1,369), Admin Support including Clerks (1,359), Operators/Fabricators/Laborers (1,060), Sales (904), Technologists/Technicians (847) and Engineer, Surveyor/Map, Science (827). 1,931 principals applicants did not report an occupation and 716 were listed as Unemployed or Retired.

Derivative applicants show a similar employment profile, with 2,333 Executive/Administrative/Managerial employees heading the list, followed by 1,887 in the Service Occupations. The only categories that are significantly larger for derivative applicants are Housewife/Househusband, with 1,121 derivatives compared to 458 principals and Students/Children under 16, with 12,273 derivatives compared to 3,140 principal applicants.

Education

About 40% of the principal applicants reported having received a college/university or advanced degree. 16% of principal applicants reported having some college education, 18% a high school diploma, 7 % some high school, and 19% reported having attended vocational school. In Asia and Europe, the number who had completed a college or university degree was significantly higher than the average (57.5% of Asians and 49% of Europeans).

Biographic Data DV-2003 (Principal Applicants Only)

Biographic Data DV-2003 (Principal Applicants Only)

Biographic Data DV-2003 (Principal Applicants Only)

Biographic Data DV-2003 (All Reported Applicants)

Biographic Data DV-2003 (All Reported Applicants)

Note: While data would have been entered for all Principal applicants, derivative applicant data may be incomplete.

F. DETERMINATION OF THE NUMERICAL LIMITS ON IMMIGRANT REQUIRED UNDER THE TERMS OF THE IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT (INA)

The State Department is required to make a determination of the worldwide numerical limitations, as outlined in Section 201(c) and (d) of the INA, on an annual basis. These calculations are based in part on data provided by the Citizenship and Immigration Service (CIS) regarding the number of immediate relative adjustments in the preceding year and the number of aliens paroled into the United States under Section 212(d)(5) in the second preceding year. Without this information, it is impossible to make an official determination of the annual limits. To avoid delays in processing while waiting for the CIS data, the Visa Office (VO) bases allocation on the minimum annual limits outlined in Section 201 of the INA. On July 29 th , CIS provided the required data to VO.

The Department of State has determined the family and employment preference numerical limits for FY-2004 in accordance with the terms of Section 201 of the INA. These numerical limitations for FY-2004 are as follows:

Worldwide Family-Sponsored preference limit: 226,000
Worldwide Employment-Based preference limit: 204,422

Under INA Section 202(A), the per-country limit is fixed at 7% of the family and employment annual limits. For FY-2004 the per-country limit is 30,130. The dependent area annual limit is 2%, or 8,608.

G. OBTAINING THE MONTHLY VISA BULLETIN

The Department of State's Bureau of Consular Affairs offers the monthly "Visa Bulletin" on the INTERNET'S WORLDWIDE WEB. The INTERNET Web address to access the Bulletin is:

http://travel.state.gov

From the home page, select the VISA section which contains the Visa Bulletin.

To be placed on the Department of State's e-mail subscription list for the “Visa Bulletin”, please send an e-mail to the following e-mail address:

listserv@calist.state.gov

and in the message body type: Subscribe Visa-Bulletin First name/Last name (example: Subscribe Visa-Bulletin Sally Doe)

To be removed from the Department of State's e-mail subscription list for the “Visa Bulletin”, send an e-mail message to the following e-mail address:

listserv@calist.state.gov

and in the message body type: Signoff Visa-Bulletin

The Department of State also has available a recorded message with visa cut-off dates which can be heard at:  (area code 202) 663-1541. The recording is normally updated by the middle of each month with information on cut-off dates for the following month.

Readers may submit questions regarding Visa Bulletin related items by e-mail at the following address:

VISABULLETIN@STATE.GOV

(This address cannot be used to subscribe to the Visa Bulletin)

Department of State Publication 9514
CA/VO:August 11, 2004